November 16
SAINT
GERTRUDE, VIRGIN
The
Liturgical Year – Ven. Dom Prosper Guéranger
The school which is founded upon the rule of the great
Patriarch of the Monks of the West, began with St. Gregory the Great. Such was
the independent action of the Holy Spirit who guided it, that in it women have
prophesied as well as men. It is enough to mention St. Hildegarde and St.
Gertrude, with whom we may fitly associate St. Mechtilde and St. Frances of
Rome. Any one who has tried modern methods will find, on making acquaintance another
atmosphere, and is urged onward by a gentle authority which is never felt, but which
allows no rest. He will not find that subtlety, that keen and learned analysis,
he has met with elsewhere, and which rather weary than aid the soul. The pious
and learned Father Faber has brought out, with his characteristic sagacity, the
advantages of that form of spirituality which gives the soul breadth and
liberty, and so produces in many persons effects which some modern methods fail
of producing No one, says he, can be at all acquainted with "the
old-fashioned Benedictine school of spiritual writers, without perceiving and
admiring the beautiful liberty of spirit which pervades and possesses their
whole mind. It is just what we should expect from an order of such matured
traditions. St. Gertrude is a fair specimen of them. She is thoroughly Benedictine
A spirit of breadth, a spirit of liberty, that is the Catholic spirit; and it was
eminently the badge of the old Benedictine ascetics. Modern writers for the
most part have tightened things, and have lost by it instead of gaining. By
frightening people, they have lessened devotion in extent; and by overstraining
it, they have lowered it in degree.
In any case,
there are many ways, and every way is good which brings men back to God by a
thorough conversion of heart. But we are sure that those who may be led to
commit themselves to the guidance of a saint of the old school will not lose
their time; and that if they meet with less philosophy and less psychology on
their way, they will be subdued by the simplicity and authority of her
language, and be moved and melted as they contrast their own souls with that of
their saintly guide. And this blessed revolution will take place in almost
every, soul that follows St. Gertrude in the week of Exercises she proposes to
them, if only they really desire to draw yet more closely the ties which unite
them to God, if their intention be fixed aright, and their souls truly recollected
in God. We may almost venture to assure such persons that they will come forth
from these Exercises transformed in their whole being. They will return to them
again and again with ever increasing pleasure; for they will have no discouraging
memory of fatigue, nor of the slightest constraint laid upon their liberty of
spirit. They will feel confounded, indeed, to be admitted so near the inmost
heart of so great a saint; but they will also feel that they have been created
for the same end as that saint, and that they must bestir themselves, and quit
all easy, dangerous ways, which lead to perdition.
And if we
be asked whence comes that wonderful influence which our Saint exercises over
all who listen to her, our answer would be: from her surpassing holiness. She
does not prove the possibility of spiritual movement and advance; she moves and
advances. A blessed soul, sent down from heaven to dwell awhile with men, and
speaking the language of the heavenly country in this land of exile, would
doubtless, utterly transform those who heard its speech. Now St. Gertrude was
admitted to such familiar converse with the Son of God, that her words have
just the accent of such a soul; and this is why they have been and are like
winged arrows, which pierce and wound all within their range. The understanding
is enlarged and enlightened by her pure and elevated doctrine, and yet St.
Gertrude never lectures or preaches ; the heart is touched and melted, and yet
St. Gertrude speaks only to God ; the soul judges itself, condemns itself,
renews itself by compunction, and yet St. Gertrude has made no effort to move
or convict it.
And if we
ask what is the source of the special blessing attached to the language of St.
Gertrude, the answer is, that it blesses because it is so impregnated with the
divine Word, not only with the revelations which St. Gertrude received from her
heavenly Spouse, but with the sacred Scriptures and the liturgy of the Church.
This holy daughter of the cloister drank in light and life day by day from the
sources of all true contemplation, from the very fountain of living waters
which gashes forth from the psalms and the inspired words of the divine Office.
Her every sentence shows how exclusively her soul was nourished with this
heavenly food. She so lived into the liturgy of the Church that we continually
find in her revelations that the Saviour discloses to her the mysteries of
heaven, and the Mother of God and the saints hold converse with her on some
Antiphon, or Response, or Introit, which the Saint is singing with delight, and
of which she is striving to feel all the force and the sweetness.
Hence that unceasing flow of unaffected
poetry which seems to have become quite natural to her, and that hallowed
enthusiasm which raises the literary beauty of her writings almost to the
height of mystical inspiration. This child of the thirteenth century, buried in
a monastery of Suabia, preceded Dante in the paths of spiritual poetry.
Sometimes her soul breaks forth into tender and touching elegy; sometimes the
fire which consumes her bursts forth in transports of fervour; sometimes her
feelings clothe themselves quite instinctively in a dramatic form; sometimes
she stops short in her sublimest flights, and she who almost rivals the
seraphim, descends to earth, but only to prepare herself for a still higher
flight. It is as though there had been an unending struggle between the
humility which held her prostrate in the dust and the aspirations of her soul,
panting after Jesus, who was drawing her, and who had lavished on her such
exceeding love. In our opinion the writings of St. Gertrude lose nothing of
their indescribable beauty, even when placed beside those of St. Teresa. Nay,
we think that the saint of Germany is not unfrequently superior to her sister of
Spain. The latter, full of impetuous ardour, has not, it is true, the tinge of
pensive melancholy which colours the writings of the former; but St. Gertrude
knew Latin so well, and was so profoundly versed in the letter and the spirit
of the holy Scriptures, that we do not hesitate to pronounce her style superior
in richness and in force to that of St. Teresa.
Still we
pray the reader not to be frightened at the thought of being placed under the
guidance of a seraph, when his conscience tells him that he has still so much
to do in the purgative way, before he can venture to enter upon paths which may
never open to him on earth. Let him simply listen to St. Gertrude, let him fix
his eye upon her, and have faith in the end she proposes to him. When the holy
Church puts in our mouths the language of the Psalms, she knows full well that
that language is often far beyond the feelings of our soul; but if we wish to
bring ourselves up to the level of these divine hymns, our best method is
certainly to repeat them frequently in faith and humility, and await the
transformation they will assuredly effect. St. Gertrude detaches us gently from
ourselves, and brings us to Jesus by going before us herself, and by drawing us
after her, though at a great distance. She goes straight to the heart of her
divine Spouse, and she might well do so; but will it not be an inestimable
blessing if she bring us to his feet like Magdalen, penitent and transformed by
love?
Even when
she writes for her sisters alone, let us not suppose that these exquisite pages
are useless to those of us who are living in the midst of the world. The
religious life, when expounded by such an interpreter, is a spectacle as
instructive as it is striking. Need we say that the practice of the precepts of
the Gospel becomes more easy to those who have well pondered and admired the
practice of its counsels? What is the Imitation of Christ but a book written by
a monk for the use of monks; and yet who is not familiar with its teaching? How
many seculars delight in the writings of St. Teresa; and yet the holy Carmelitess
makes the religious life the one theme of her teaching.
We will not
now speak of her wonderful style of expression. We are so unused to the decided
and elevated language of the ages of faith, that some readers, accustomed to
modern books alone, may be startled, and even pained, by St. Gertrude. But what
is the remedy for this inconvenience? If we have unlearned the language of that
antique piety which fashioned saints, surely our best way is to learn it again
as soon as we can; and St. Gertrude will give us wonderful help in doing so.
The list
of the devoted admirers of her writings would be long and imposing. But there
is an authority far higher still—that of the Church herself. That mother of the
faithful, ever guided by the Holy Ghost, has in her holy liturgy set her seal
upon St. Gertrude. The Saint herself, and the spirit which animated her, are
there for ever recommended and glorified in the eyes of all Christians, in
virtue of the solemn judgment contained in the Office of her festival.
The life of
Gertrude the Great, as she has merited to be distinguished among the Saints of
the same name, was humble and obscure. (1256—1302). At five years of age she
entered the Abbey of Helfta near Eisleben, and there she remained hidden in the
secret of God's face. For several centuries, by an error which has also found
its way into the Legend of the feast, she was confounded with the Abbess Gertrude
of Hackeborn, who governed the monastery during our Saint's life-time, and was
herself favoured with divine gifts. It was not until Gertrude's sublime
Revelations, contained in the five books of the Legatus divinae pietatis, or
Legate of divine love, had at length been published, that in 1677 her name was
inscribed in the Roman Martyrology. In the following century (1738) Clement
XII, ordered her feast to be celebrated, as a Double, by the whole Church. The
West Indies chose her as patroness; and a town in New Mexico bears her name.
In order to
furnish the faithful with an expression of their piety towards St. Gertrude, we
offer them the following beautiful Hymn, Antiphon and Collect, taken from the
Benedictine Breviary.
O, Gertrude, shrine of the Divinity, united to the
Spouse of virgins; grant us to celebrate the chaste love of thy espousals.
Scarcely hadst thou completed thy fourth year when thou wast espoused to
Christ, and didst flee to the shelter of the cloister. Thou didst put from thee
the breast of thy nurse, and seek the divine kiss of thy Spouse. Like a fair
spotless lily thou dost give forth a perfume which gladdens heaven; and the
splendour of thy virgin beauty draweth to thee the King of Saints. He who
dwelleth in the bosom of the Father, surrounded with everlasting glory, deigns
to take his repose in thy love. Thou woundest Jesus with love; and he woundeth
thee in return, and deeply graveth on thy heart the marks of his sacred
Passion. O peerless love, O wondrous interchange; he it is who breatheth in thy
heart, and thy life hangeth on the breath of his mouth. Let the blessed choirs
of virgins sing thy praise, O Jesus, Spouse of virgins; and equal glory be
ascribed to Father and to Paraclete. Amen.
ANTIPHON
O most worthy spouse of Christ, on whom the prophetic
light hath shone, whose heart an apostolic zeal inflamed, whose head the wreath
of virgins hath crowned, whom the glowing fire of divine love consumed.
PRAYER
O God, who hast prepared for thyself a dwelling-place
of delights in the most pure heart of the blessed virgin Gertrude ; deign, we
beseech thee, through her merits and intercession, to wipe away all stains from
our hearts, that they may become meet abodes of thy divine majesty. Through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
O revealer of
the Sacred Heart, what better prayer could we offer in thine honour than to say
with thee to the Son of the Blessed Virgin:
O thou my soul's calm untroubled Light! 0 dawn of
morning, soft-gleaming with thy beauteous light, become in me the perfect day.
0 my Love, who dost not only enlighten but deify, come unto me in all thy might;
come and gently melt my whole being. May all that is of me be destroyed
utterly; may I wholly pass into thee, so that I may no more find myself in
time, but may be already and most intimately united to thee for all eternity.
Thou hast first loved me; it is thou who hast chosen me, and not I who have
first chosen thee. Thou art he who of his own accord runneth towards his
thirsting creature; and on thy kingly brow gleams the fair splendour of the
everlasting light, how me thy countenance, and let me gaze upon thy beauty. How
mild and full of charms is that face, all radiant with the rosy light of the
dawn of the divine Sun! How can the spark live and glow far from the fire that
gave it being? Or how can the drop of water abide far from the spring from
whence it was taken? 0 compassionate Love, why hast thou loved a creature so
defiled and so covered with shame, but that thou hast willed to render it all
fair in thee? O thou delicate flower of the Virgin Mary, thy goodness and thy
tender mercy have won and ravished my heart. O Love, my glorious noontide, to
take my rest in thee, gladly would I die a thousand deaths. O Charity, O Love,
at the hour of my death thou wilt sustain me with thy words, more gladdening
far than choicest wine. Thou wilt then be my way, my unobstructed way, that I
may wander no more nor stray. Thou wilt aid me then, O love, thou queen of
heaven; thou wilt clear my way before me to those fair and fertile pastures
hidden in the divine wilderness, and my soul shall be inebriate with bliss; for
there shall I see the face of the Lamb, my Spouse and my God. 0 Love, who art
God, thou art my best beloved possession. Without thee neither earth nor heaven
could excite in me one hope, nor draw forth one desire: vouchsafe to effect and
perfect within me that union which thou thyself desirest: may it be the end, the
crown, and consummation of my being. In the countenance of my God thy light
beameth soft and fair as the evening star. O thou fair and solemn Evening, let
me see thy ray when my eye shall close in death. O Love, thou much-loved
Evening-tide, at that dread moment let the sacred flame, which burneth evermore
in thy divine essence, consume all the stains of my mortal life. 0 thou my calm
and peaceful Evening, when the evening-tide of my life shall come, give me to
sleep in thee in tranquil sleep, and to taste that blissful rest which thou
hast prepared in thyself for them that love thee. With thy serene, enchanting
look vouchsafe to order all things and prepare all things for my everlasting
espousal. O Love, be thou unto me an eventide so bright and calm, that my
ravished soul may bid a loving farewell to its body, and return to God who gave
it, and rest in peace beneath thy beloved shadow!
November 16
St Gertrude, Virgin
Double/White Vestments
Missa ‘Dilexisti’
INTROIT -
Psalm 44: 8, 2
Dilexisti
justitiam, et odisti iniquitatem: propterea unxit te Deus, Deus tuus, oleo
lætitiæ præ consortibus tuis. Ps. Eructavit cor meum verbum bonum: dico ego
opera mea Regi. Gloria Patri
Thou
hast loved justice and hated iniquity: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed
thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. Ps. My heart hath uttered a good word: I speak my works to the King. Glory
be to the Father.
COLLECT
O
God, Who didst prepare for Thyself a pleasant dwelling-place in the heart of
blessed Gertrude, do Thou, through her merits and intercession, mercifully wipe
away from our hearts every stain of sin, and grant us to enjoy her
companionship. Through our Lord.
EPISTLE - II
Corinthians 10: 17-18; 11: 1-2
Brethren:
he that glory, let him glory in the Lord. For not that he that commendeth
himself is approved, but he whom God commendeth. Would to God you could bear
with some little of my folly, but do bear with me. For I am jealous of you with
the jealousy of God. For I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present
you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
GRADUAL - Psalm
44: 5, 15, 16
With
thy comeliness and thy beauty set out, proceed prosperously, and reign. Because
of truth, and meekness and justice: and thy right hand shall conduct thee
wonderfully.
ALLELUIA
Alleluia,
alleluia. After her shall virgins be brought to the king: her neighbours shall
be brought to thee with gladness. Alleluia.
GOSPEL - Matthew
25: 1-13
At
that time, Jesus spoke to His disciples this parable: The kingdom of Heaven shall
be like to ten virgins, who taking their lamps went out to meet the bridegroom
and the bride. And five of them were foolish, and five wise: but the five
foolish having taken their lamps, did not take oil with them: but the wise took
oil in their vessels with the lamps. And the bridegroom tarrying, they all
slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made: Behold the
bridegroom cometh, go ye forth to meet him. Then all those virgins arose and
trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise: Give us of your oil, for
our lamps are gone out. The wise answered, saying: Lest perhaps there be not
enough for us and for you, go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for
yourselves. Now whilst they went to buy, the bridegroom came: and they that were
ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. But at last came
also the other virgins, saying: Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answering, said:
Amen I say to you, I know you not. Watch ye therefore, because you know not the
day nor the hour.
OFFERTORY -
Psalm 44: 10
The
daughters of kings are in thine honour, the queen stood on thy right hand in
gilded clothing, surrounded with variety.
SECRET
May
the offering of Thy consecrated people be accepted by Thee, O Lord, in honour
of Thy Saints, by whose merits it knoweth that it hath received aid in time of
trouble. Through our Lord.
COMMON
PREFACE
It
is truly meet and just, right and for our salvation that we should at all times
and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, eternal
God: through Christ our Lord. Through Whom the Angels praise Thy Majesty,
Dominations worship, Powers stand in awe. The Heavens and the Heavenly hosts
together with the blessed Seraphim in triumphant chorus unite to celebrate it.
Together with them we entreat Thee, that Thou mayest bid our voices also to be
admitted, while we say in lowly praise:
COMMUNION - Matthew
25: 4-6
The
five wise virgins took oil in their vessels with the lamps: and at midnight
there was a cry made: Behold the bridegroom cometh: go ye forth to meet Christ
the Lord.
POSTCOMMUNION
Thou
hast filled Thy household, O Lord, with sacred gifts; ever comfort us, we
beseech Thee, through her intercession whose festival we celebrate. Through our
Lord.
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